Holding a LIFETIME gym membership, I would never expect myself to be following some fitness youtubers' videos, doing home workouts right in front of my computer desk.
But I did; for the past month. Circuit-breaker, look what you've made me do. Pre-CB, I hit the gym (for group x classes) at least 5 days a week, doing mainly spinning and hot yoga classes, along with some weight resistance (bodypump, sculpt/cxworx) and other form of cardio (bodystep, bodyattack). During 1st month of CB, I ended up jogging for 6 days a week and that really put a strain on my poor knees. Eventually, I decided that 4 days a week is the maximum I'll jog, and for the other 3 days, I will just stay at home and do some home workouts instead.
The first fitness youtuber's channel I've hopped onto when I decided to start working out at home was Natacha Oceane, as I've always been watching her fitness related videos from time to time. But then I realised that she doesn't have that much workout videos on youtube (she mainly post them on her IG instead), and being more intermediate/advanced, her routines tend to include a lot more movements and jumping, hence requiring a lot more space than I can squeeze out in my humble bedroom.
And so I've went on to search for a whole load of other fitness youtubers and tried out their routines, and the two channels I've been always going back to for my super quick, daily 20 minutes 'lunchtime workout' are Holly Dolke & MrandMrsMuscle.
First up, I absolutely love how short & area specific Holly Dolke's routines are. From super short 6 minutes cardio workouts, to 7 minutes abs workouts to 15 minutes HIIT/Tabata workouts; I can easily stack a couple of her videos together, back to back, to complete my 20-25 minutes lunchtime workout. For example, I typically get my heart rate up with her cardio or HIIT/Tabata workouts before doing 1 or 2 more of her area specific workouts (usually abs, legs or booty).
Then, I stumbled upon MrandMrsMuscle's channel when I wanted to add in some dumbbell arm routines into my lunchtime workouts. Love how easy to follow their routines are, with a huge selection of routines to choose from. From short 10 minutes beginner's (no jumping) cardio, to higher intensity cardio, to slightly longer (16 to 20 minutes) body toning exercises. It doesn't matter what your fitness level is, or if you own any dumbbells or not; you can always find a suitable routine to follow on their channel.
And for my alternate days 1 hour (or more) evening workouts, I will usually stack two 30 to 45 minutes full body toning & cardio routines from Kit Rich or Emi Wong. I also love following nourishmovelove's Cardio Barre routines, which are really fun to follow but can get pretty tough on my thighs.
Out of these 3 youtubers, Emi Wong's videos are actually the easiest to follow, as her presentation is more like Holly Dolke and MrandMrsMuscle (timed circuits with breaks in between each exercise), with a beeping timer added such that you know when to stop the exercise even if you're not looking at her on your computer screen. However, I tend to prefer to not follow her videos that much (even though she also has shorter ones) as her form isn't really that great. But if you're the kind who would feel better (less demoralised) when you see others struggling along during the workout (feels more realistic?), then perhaps you can check her out. But also do note that she also have some really questionable workout routines like one for the collarbones (like, WHUTT?), which really got me dumbfounded.
My 11 lines definitely became a lot more obvious after just 1 week of doing the 10 minutes abs workout during my lunchtime workout (usually paired with other short cardio and dumbbell routines).
Actually, if anybody (fitness influencers) tells you that you can spot reduce (eg. follow their 10 minutes abs workout video for 2 weeks and get shredded abs etc), it's the biggest telltale sign that you should not take any of their advice because they obviously do not know their stuff. YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE, LADIES. I've also stumbled across one of Chloe Ting's videos on intermittent fasting, whereby she claimed that on IF (to lose weight) you need not count calories and can eat anything you want.
Anyway, Phase 2 of our Circuit Breaker is confirmed to start this Friday, 19th June, and gyms will be allowed to reopen! Yayy! But since working from home is still a default, I will probably still be sticking to Holly Dolke and MrandMrsMuscle for my lunchtime workout for the time being. :)
Till then,
Mia Foo
But I did; for the past month. Circuit-breaker, look what you've made me do. Pre-CB, I hit the gym (for group x classes) at least 5 days a week, doing mainly spinning and hot yoga classes, along with some weight resistance (bodypump, sculpt/cxworx) and other form of cardio (bodystep, bodyattack). During 1st month of CB, I ended up jogging for 6 days a week and that really put a strain on my poor knees. Eventually, I decided that 4 days a week is the maximum I'll jog, and for the other 3 days, I will just stay at home and do some home workouts instead.
The first fitness youtuber's channel I've hopped onto when I decided to start working out at home was Natacha Oceane, as I've always been watching her fitness related videos from time to time. But then I realised that she doesn't have that much workout videos on youtube (she mainly post them on her IG instead), and being more intermediate/advanced, her routines tend to include a lot more movements and jumping, hence requiring a lot more space than I can squeeze out in my humble bedroom.
And so I've went on to search for a whole load of other fitness youtubers and tried out their routines, and the two channels I've been always going back to for my super quick, daily 20 minutes 'lunchtime workout' are Holly Dolke & MrandMrsMuscle.
First up, I absolutely love how short & area specific Holly Dolke's routines are. From super short 6 minutes cardio workouts, to 7 minutes abs workouts to 15 minutes HIIT/Tabata workouts; I can easily stack a couple of her videos together, back to back, to complete my 20-25 minutes lunchtime workout. For example, I typically get my heart rate up with her cardio or HIIT/Tabata workouts before doing 1 or 2 more of her area specific workouts (usually abs, legs or booty).
Then, I stumbled upon MrandMrsMuscle's channel when I wanted to add in some dumbbell arm routines into my lunchtime workouts. Love how easy to follow their routines are, with a huge selection of routines to choose from. From short 10 minutes beginner's (no jumping) cardio, to higher intensity cardio, to slightly longer (16 to 20 minutes) body toning exercises. It doesn't matter what your fitness level is, or if you own any dumbbells or not; you can always find a suitable routine to follow on their channel.
And for my alternate days 1 hour (or more) evening workouts, I will usually stack two 30 to 45 minutes full body toning & cardio routines from Kit Rich or Emi Wong. I also love following nourishmovelove's Cardio Barre routines, which are really fun to follow but can get pretty tough on my thighs.
Out of these 3 youtubers, Emi Wong's videos are actually the easiest to follow, as her presentation is more like Holly Dolke and MrandMrsMuscle (timed circuits with breaks in between each exercise), with a beeping timer added such that you know when to stop the exercise even if you're not looking at her on your computer screen. However, I tend to prefer to not follow her videos that much (even though she also has shorter ones) as her form isn't really that great. But if you're the kind who would feel better (less demoralised) when you see others struggling along during the workout (feels more realistic?), then perhaps you can check her out. But also do note that she also have some really questionable workout routines like one for the collarbones (like, WHUTT?), which really got me dumbfounded.
And just a side note, I've also followed Chloe Ting's Get Abs in 2 Weeks Abs Workout for (DUH!) two weeks. This has to be one of the most popular abs workout video on youtube, with over 151 MILLIONS views till date and a whopping 3.3 MILLIONS thumbs up. There's also tons of review videos, boasting of unbelievable results in just two weeks of following her programme, which consist of a couple other workout videos as well and not just this 10 mins abs workout.
And well, here's my results (from only doing her 10 mins abs workout video in the programme).
Unfortunately, I was having my period bloat during week 2, so the final results weren't that obvious.
In addition, do note that I did see (some faint) results only because I was also doing other cardio exercises along with this 10 mins abs workout, and watching what I eat.
Actually, if anybody (fitness influencers) tells you that you can spot reduce (eg. follow their 10 minutes abs workout video for 2 weeks and get shredded abs etc), it's the biggest telltale sign that you should not take any of their advice because they obviously do not know their stuff. YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE, LADIES. I've also stumbled across one of Chloe Ting's videos on intermittent fasting, whereby she claimed that on IF (to lose weight) you need not count calories and can eat anything you want.
But the main reason on why I do not follow her workout videos is because like Emi Wong, many times her form isn't that great. And while she has tons of different videos on her channel, she tend to just shuffle through that same few exercises in all of them.
Anyway, Phase 2 of our Circuit Breaker is confirmed to start this Friday, 19th June, and gyms will be allowed to reopen! Yayy! But since working from home is still a default, I will probably still be sticking to Holly Dolke and MrandMrsMuscle for my lunchtime workout for the time being. :)
Till then,
Mia Foo
Bice Article post on Home Work Outs thanks for sharing Home Workout Videos
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